Video of traffic police assaulting youth goes viral

Bengaluru: A video footage of a traffic sub-inspector assaulting a youth and threatening him, has gone viral on social media and created public outrage, even as the state government is taking steps to contain the unruly behaviour of the Karnataka traffic police.

The state government has halted the operations of towing vehicles in the capital city after a series of complaints raised on the extortion mindset of the traffic police. The video of a youth running behind towing vehicles pleading to release his vehicle had gone viral earlier.

In another incident, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant suspended a senior traffic policeman for assaulting, repeatedly kicking and dragging a woman by her hair on the road in Bengaluru. The woman had thrown a stone at the policeman.

The recent video shows the youth showing his injury on neck caused due to assault by traffic sub-inspector Chandrashekar attached to the Vijayanagara Traffic Police station.

The youth says on the video that he was assaulted for telling the policeman that he didn’t have money to pay a fine of Rs 2,500 and he would pay in the court once he gets salary. The policemen insisted that he should pay Rs 1,000 on the spot and when he questioned, the sub-inspector had assaulted him.

The video shows that as the youth questions the sub-inspector, the policeman assaults him and throws his helmet away. He is also seen in the video threatening the youth that he will take care of him when he comes to the police station to get his vehicle released. The accused sub-inspector also says in the video that he would remember it throughout his life.

(With inputs from IANS)